Rosh Hashanah

Hanukkah

The eight day holy period known as the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights. Historically, it celebrates the victory of the Maccabean Rebellion against the attempt by Antiochus to force non-Jewish practices on the Jews.

Sheol

t'fillin

Small leather boxes containing Biblical verses which are worn by traditional Jewish men (during weekday morning prayers) on the forehead and the upper arm, thereby fulfilling the commandment to keep the Covenant "close to heart and mind."

Reform Judaism

Conservative Judaism

A kind of middle ground in Jewish theology. It accepts some strict practices from the Orthodox branch (dietary laws, belief in the literalness of the Torah, etc.) and some liberal ones from the Reform branch (family pews for men and women, modern methods of education for children, etc.).

Chosen People

prophet

diaspora

The forced dispersion of the Jews from Jerusalem after 70 CE when the Romans destroyed the Temple and the city. The term is also applied to the period of time after the Jews were in Babylonian Captivity.